Liquid Heaven

I recently tried Starbucks' signature hot chocolate and got hooked.

H-O-O-K-E-D.

Bad.

And it's expensive, so I have cut back on it since the new year began. (I do like their new teas, but not enough to go there frequently to get them.)

Today I had to run by Staples to get a refund for something, and I noticed that my $3 Staples check (Woo! Big money!) expired tomorrow, so after I got the refund Quinn and I wandered the store looking for a good deal. I found a Starbucks gift basket amongst the Christmas clearance. It was marked $7.50 and had a sticker that said there was a coupon for a free Tall Starbucks beverage inside. I figured $4.50 (after the $3 check) was a good deal for a small bag of coffee, some Tazo teabags and a packet of peppermint hot chocolate plus a free Tall beverage. We paid (it ended up costing just $2.50, because the kit was actually priced at $5.50!) and left.

When we got home Quinn wanted me to make the cocoa for him. I opened it up and discovered it was a bunch of tiny chunks of peppermint flavored chocolate that I had to melt with milk to make the beverage, just like they make it at Starbucks. Interesting.

I made the cocoa and Quinn declared it to be delicious. He took it with him when we went to pick up Aiden and Camryn from school. Of course, Aiden got curious when Quinn bragged that the cocoa was so yummy and that he had gotten the only serving (yep, the packet only made one full mug...)

As soon as we got back home, Aiden asked if I could make him some cocoa. I dug out some chocolate and created my own drink. What I came up with is nothing short of heaven. Liquid Heaven.

(I took pictures just like Christy at A Southern Plate does, 'cause I think it's cool to have a visual guide. Christy has the best food blog! She cooks just like my grandmother and mother and I do, so I love to try her recipes. I made her Crockpot Stuffing for Thanksgiving and the hubby and I both thought it was the best dressing we'd ever tasted. If you like food, check her out!)

So anyway... the hot chocolate.



I used 6 squares of Hershey's Bliss milk chocolate, about 8 ounces (1 cup) of milk and 1/4 t. peppermint extract. If you don't have Bliss chocolate you can use about 3T of any other sweetened chocolate you have on hand. Hershey's kisses would work very well.

I broke the chocolates in half and put them in the bottom of a microwaveable mug.



I added just a little bit of 1% milk (enough to barely cover the chocolate) and microwaved it for 30 seconds.



Then I stirred it until the chocolate was fully incorporated with the milk.



I added enough milk to bring the level of liquid almost to the top of the mug and microwaved that for a full minute.



I took the mug out of the microwave and added the 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint flavoring. I like it mildly minty like a Thin Mint Girl Scout cookie, but Aiden likes his mintier, so I gave him 1/2 teaspoon. Use what you like. Stir well and enjoy.

Mine didn't last long at all. It was gone in about 3 minutes! It tastes just like Starbucks, so don't blame me if you get addicted!

Wow, What a Week!

Life has gotten a lot busier lately. I don't know what it is, but it just seems like I'm always on the go. I need life to s-l-o-w down a bit. I feel like I haven't had enough time to breathe!

On Monday, Quinn was sick. That pushed the things on my to-do list to Tuesday (Aha, that might be where it started...) I still haven't caught up, but I'm paddling like crazy to get there. I helped Aiden get his animal research project finished up this week (which included helping him fill out a research questionnaire and making a trip to the library) and aided Camryn in studying for a huge science test she had. There's laundry coming out my ears (what's new there) and I had to get the house straightened up enough for the cleaning lady to clean today (so glad she comes every other week! I look forward to her visits, because the house always smells like pine scented Lysol after she leaves, the boys' bathroom no longer smells like pee and we have clean sheets on our beds!)

I have accomplished a ton this week, but I still have to:

• make a board for the older kids' school book fair
• finish gathering/trimming/counting Campbell's labels to submit
• fill out some paperwork (it's a thick packet... I hate paperwork!)
• Call my GYN for my yearly appointment (got a reminder card this week)
• Get Lillian's size 5 winter clothes out of the basement, wash and hang them
• Clean out Lillian's winter clothes that are too small so I have room (and hangers!) for the "new" stuff
• Put together goodie boxes for next weekend's retreat
• Gather my secret pal stuff for my retreat
• Do all my power layouting for the retreat so I know what I'm taking and working on (though at this point it would seriously be nice just to go up there and sleep all weekend!)
• Pack for the retreat (I think my fellow retreaters would appreciate me being clothed...)

In the middle of all of that I've been running around town shopping like a mad fool, trying to get all these good deals I've read about (aha #2!) I can't let the savings go to waste!

Today's trip was to Publix (after I left Quinn's class at the Pumpkin patch, my 2nd trip this week.. Aiden's class trip was cancelled last week due to rain, so he went yesterday instead. That's 2 pumpkin patches in 2 days... 4 bags of apples and 4 baby pumpkins, 2 hayless hayrides (thank goodness... aaah-choo!), plus lots of "pat the bunnies" and goats eating corn out of my hand... fun stuff!)

But back to Publix...

I found the Publix deals here. I tried to resist, but once I added it all up and determined what I needed and what I had coupons for, I couldn't resist. I ended up spending $58.99 (with tax), and here's what I got:

4 bags Baby Ruth miniatures ($2/bag after coupons)
5 bags Fast Fixins chicken products ($2/bag after coupons)
3 boxes Hamburger Helper ($2.25 for all 3)
7 boxes Frosted Mini Wheats cereal ($1/box after coupons)
2 boxes Apple Jacks ($1.15/box after coupons)
1 box Corn Pops ($1.15/box after coupons)
1 box Froot Loops ($1.15/box after coupons)
1 box Smart Balance Butter Blend sticks ($.80 after coupon)
1 box Farm Rich French Toast Sticks ($.90 after coupon)
1 canister Lysol wipes ($1.75 after coupon)
2 cans squirtable Cool Whip ($1.50 each after coupon)
2 packages Mott's Applesauce (6 pk) ($2.77 for both after coupon)
2 bottles Mott's Apple Juice ($1.50 each after coupon)
1 box Kashi frozen waffles (FREE after coupon)
4 boxes Uncle Ben's Rice ($2.66 for all 4 after coupons)
2 packages Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies ($1.50 each after coupons)

I also bought a large bag of marshmallows ($1.89), a bottle of lemon extract ($1.69) and a carton of whipping cream ($2.49) for a dessert I'm making tonight (something I got from Real Mom Kitchen. See the recipe below.)

Marshmallow Graham Dessert

1 package (16 ounces) large marshmallows
2 cups milk
1-1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups whipping cream, whipped
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted

In a heavy saucepan over low heat, melt marshmallows and milk. Remove from the heat. Cool, stirring occasionally. Stir in extract. Fold in pineapple and whipped cream. Combine cracker crumbs and butter. Press 1-1/2 cups into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. pan. Spread with the pineapple mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining crumb mixture. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving. Yield: 12-16 servings.

I love getting deals. My kids go through those Mini Wheats, too (they like cereal in their lunchboxes, and I give it to them as a snack... without milk.) The register receipt said I'd saved over $96. I also got a raincheck for another 4 bags of candy (I have 2 more coupons, and they had no more bags!) With all the class parties, goodie bags and Trick or Treating coming up, that candy will be gone in no time. Can't beat that deal.

I also love going to Publix. I haven't shopped there in a LOOOOOONG time because it's just not close to the house, but I miss it. The store is clean, things are clearly marked (which helps when there is a lot of sale stuff to buy!) and the employees are SUPER DUPER friendly. I wish Publix was closer.

I'm about to head out the door to get Quinn and Lillian, then to Staples for more ink (printing all those coupons has used up my ink! Lucky for me it's cheap ink!) Then I'll head out to get the older 2 kids, help with homework and then start dinner. There's a lawyer coming to the house for us to sign papers (we refinanced our mortgage down to 5.1% and we have to close on that tonight) then MIL is coming for dinner. After that I need to start working on that Book Fair board (it's "due" tomorrow!)

For Today... 10/13

For Today...

Outside my Window... it's gorgeous and sunny and cool and the sky is a beautiful blue color.

I am thinking... that I have the best husband in the world. Quinn is home sick today with a stomach bug, so instead of picking Quinn up from school and going on their usual Monday Daddy Date, my sweet husband picked up the older children from school so I wouldn't have to. He's such a sweetheart.

From the learning rooms... I am learning how to be more frugal and get better deals. ; )

I am thankful for... stomach bugs that don't last for days (Quinn seems much better... he'll probably go back to school tomorrow!) I'm also thankful for a sweet daughter. Camryn was reading Proverbs 31 last week, and when she finished she told me that the woman in the passage reminded her so much of me. I was floored and humbled. To me the woman in that particular passage is just a superwoman. I strive to model myself after her, but never have I ever considered myself worthy of being (favorably) compared to her. I was touched that my daughter thinks of me that way.

From the kitchen... Tonight I'm trying a new recipe that I found underneath one of the may Campbell's labels I trimmed last week (I'm the Labels for Education coordinator for my older kids' school...lots of label cutting going on in my house lately!)

Glazed Pork Chops

2T cornstarch
1/2 c. water
1 T butter or
margarine
6 pork chops, 3/4" thick
1 can Campbell's French Onion
soup
2 T. packed brown sugar

Mix cornstarch and water. Melt butter in skillet. Add chops and cook until browned. Add soup and sugar. Heat to boil. Cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes, or until done. Remove chops and keep warm. Add cornstarch mixture. Cook and stir until mixture boils and thickens. Serve over chops.

I am reading... Google Reader. Lately that's my obsession and all I have time to read!

I am hoping... that I can get my to do list done this week.

I am creating... Quinn's scrapbook, plus looking for ideas for centerpieces. Got any ideas?

I am hearing... the older kids coming in the door, Little Bill on TV and Quinn playing Battalion Wars (think he feels better?!?)

Around the house... laundry left over from the weekend... I cleaned out the laundry room cabinets today and made room for some of my cheap finds from my shopping spree yesterday.

One of my favorite things... is opening the windows on cool fall days. It makes the house smell so good, and it lowers the electric bill.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... a meeting tomorrow, Fisher's Orchard with the boys (Aiden on Wednesday, Quinn on Thursday), take the kids for flu shots on Wednesday evening (Oh, Boy!), host a sleepover on Friday (a brother, sister and sister that my two older kids are friends with), and take Camryn to see the 2008 Tour of Gymnastics Champions on Saturday. I don't know who's more excited about seeing that: me or Camryn. We have front row seats! Sunday I plan on working on my Secret Sister gift and the goodie bag gifts for a scrapbooking retreat I'm going to next weekend. Hopefully I can get those things marked off my list before next Monday.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... (click the picture to go to a live Webcam shot.)



That's the view from Table Rock, which isn't too far from where we live. The leaves are changing, though not as spectacularly as past autumns. We had a long, dry summer, so the colors aren't as vivid this fall.

Found Treasure

When I was back "home" in Alabama in the fall, my mom gave me a box full of recipes. The box had been at my grandparents' house when it was cleaned out after my grandfather died in 1999. I took the box thinking I could go through the recipes and make a scrapbook of them.

My grandmother passed away in February, and since then I have been craving her Mississippi Mud Cake. I found a recipe for it when I Googled "Mississippi Mud Cake", and I made the cake, but it just wasn't my grandmother's mud cake. The icing wasn't right, and I don't think she cooked the marshmallows, because that makes them tough. Her marshmallows were creamy.

I remembered the box of recipes yesterday. I had completely forgotten that I owned it. It's been tucked away in a closet since October.



I sat on the couch last night and went through the box. The kids and I had a few laughs over some of the stuff in the box. There were old vacuum cleaner ads from the 70s, grocery store flyers, recipes written on the backs of deposit slips. And oh, the pie recipes. Doris had a sweet tooth, and it was never more evident than in that recipe box. Of the hundreds of cards and clippings we found in the box, I'd say about 15 were for meat or side dishes. The rest were pies, cakes, candies, fudge, or homemade pickles. (The woman made a mean homemade pickle. I wish I still had a few jars of her sweet pickles. Maybe I can get my mom to help me make some pickles this summer...)

After just a few minutes of searching, I found an envelope addressed to my grandmother from a friend of hers. Inside was one single sheet of notebook paper with a recipe written on it. The recipe was for Mississippi Mud Cake. I don't know who the friend was or why she mailed the recipe to my grandmother, but there it was.



Later on in our recipe box dig we found an index card with the same recipe rewritten in my grandmother's handwriting. THAT was a treasure.



I can't wait to try her actual recipe for Mississippi Mud Cake. I can almost taste it. I can see myself sitting at her old Formica kitchen table in one of her sparkly vinyl chairs, enjoying that delicious cake. She always had a cake or pie on the table. Sometimes it was homemade, sometimes store bought, but she always had something sweet there.

And no, she didn't cook the marshmallows when she made her Mud Cake.

"Pour marshmallows on top of hot cake and let them melt slightly, then pour icing over the top."

I guess she didn't like chewy marshmallows, either. My kind of gal.

Passing the Torch

Tonight we're having pot roast with carrots and potatoes for dinner. It's my mom's recipe, I guess passed down from her mother, because I remember eating in on Sundays after church at my grandmother's house.

(That opens up a whole 'nother can of memories of being in my stocking feet, "ice skating" on the slick floor of her foyer, or trying on my mother's high heels waiting for the day I could buy my own pair. I remember sitting at my grandmother's table, smashing my potatoes to smithereens, then adding Miracle Whip to them to make mashed potatoes. I gotta stop; I'm gettin' hungry! Where is that husband of mine so we can EAT already?!?)

My grandmother served her pot roast with a pan of store bought Parker House Rolls, which were perfect for soaking up the gravy from the roast. I could eat an entire pan of those fabulous rectangles of heaven all by myself (Yes, my name is Beth, and I'm a bread addict...)

When Mom made pot roast, she served us her homemade Pop Up rolls, which are an entirely different palmful of deliciousness. They're so easy to make, and they go great with anything (but I like to make them when I have some sort of gravy, because dadgummit if that's not nature's perfect food!)

Tonight my 10 year-old daughter volunteered to make the Pop Up rolls. She measured everything so perfectly, stirred everything so well, and dropped the dough into the muffin cups. And no, I didn't take pictures. I plum fergot. I think I was overwhelmed at the thought of rolls and rich roast gravy, to tell the truth.

I saw the rolls a few minutes ago when my daughter brought them to me for inspection. They didn't pop over like they're supposed to (I think she beat them too long), but they look good enough to be gravy sponges, which is what they are.

Where *IS* that husband of mine?!? I'm going to eat my left arm if he doesn't hurry it up, already!

Oh, do you want the recipe for Pop Up rolls? I'll share it with you, but be warned. They're addictive, and I will not be held responsible for your carbohydrate coma if you eat too many.

2 cups Self Rising flour
2 T granulated sugar
2 T mayonnaise (puh lease, no low fat, but if you must...)
1 cup milk

Mix together all ingredients and scoop into greased muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Makes 6-9 rolls. (I usually double the recipe.)

And while I'm at it, do you want the Pot Roast recipe, too?

1 sirloin tip roast, or bottom round roast, (2 to 3 lbs? I never look!)
2 (10 3/4 oz) cans cream of mushroom soup (only Campbell's will do!)
1 pkg Lipton dry onion soup mix (if you don't have onion soup mix, chop a small onion)
salt & pepper

In a deep skillet, brown roast on both sides. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.

While the roast is browning, stir together the mushroom soup, plus 2 cans of water (use the soup cans). Stir in Lipton Soup mix.

Place roast in Crock Pot. Pour soup mix over roast.

Cook on high 3 to 4 hours. About 2 hours before dinnertime, add 1 pound of baby carrots (or slice your own regular carrots) and 14 to 15 small (peeled) red potatoes, halved (or 5-6 large potatoes, quartered).

Cook until vegetables are tender. Serve meat with gravy. And the rolls, if you haven't already inhaled them all.

Delivered

Whew!

Today has been the day for deliveries at our house.

I rolled out of bed around 9:30 am (SHUT.UP I have 12 days until school starts! I'm working my way back around to getting up at 7:30 am! Leave me alone.)

I had changed into my clothes and was in the "reading room" (wink, wink) when I heard the doorbell. I ran to wash my hands and get to the door. As I opened it, the FedEx man was driving away.

Deliveries 1 and 2 were a box of scrapbook supplies (ya know, 'cause I'm almost out of those...not) and a new baker's rack for Lillian's room, which I'm using to replace her changing table. 'Cause she's potty trained. Isn't that the best news EVER?

About an hour later I got a huge delivery (#3 of the day) that I had been anticipating for a couple of weeks.

The UPS man rang my bell and brought me 22 boxes of cookbooks for my friends at ScrapShare.





This cookbook was the brainchild of my friend Joanie, and I had the pleasure of helping her give it life. It went to press in June; we took orders for 577 books and they finally made it to me today. Now I get the fun task of packing and shipping them. I can't wait to see what people have to say (unless it's negative, of course...but I don't think there will be any complaints.)



Camryn help me put the new Baker's Rack together while Lillian was taking her nap. It looks so nice. That changing table held up through 4 kiddos, and it served us well. It is going to the basement to rest while we try to find it and its crib sister a new, loving home.



The mister called while I was in Lillian's room switching everything from the changing table to the new rack (who knew the child had SO MANY hairbows?!?) He said CarMax guy had called to report that our new van had arrived from Miami (delivery #4). Oh, and would I mind bringing the kids to Fuddrucker's and meeting him (the hubby) for dinner? Oh, and would I empty out the Pacifica and then drive the truck back home so he could go pick up new van?

I suggested that the Mister bring home dinner and then go back to get the van himself, because

DUH

had he forgotten that TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT?

"High School Musical 2" is coming on in less than an hour! We couldn't leave NOW to go get a VAN when Gabriella and Troy and Sharpay and Ryan and Taylor and Chad are due to show up on our TV at 8 pm est!



Yeah, baby. That will be the best delivery yet!

We have our snacks, our jammies on, and our blankets laid out on the floor.





Bring back the East High crew!

Comfort Food

I just made my favorite comfort food for lunch. I made it for myself, because my kids don't care for it.

It's called Tomato Soup Goop, and my mom made it for me when I was a kid. I'm pretty sure she got it off of the Campbell's Tomato Soup can, but she's a good enough cook that she could've invented it herself.

Here's the recipe (well, as close as I can come to a recipe, since it's just something I learned to cook from watching my mom):

1/4 to 1/2 c. chopped onions
2 T. butter
(1) 10.75 oz. can Campbell's Tomato soup, undiluted
1 T. Worcestershire sauce (more or less to taste)
1 T. sugar (I add 3 packets of Splenda)
Dash black pepper
(1) 8 oz. package seashell noodles, prepared according to package directions & drained

Saute' the onions in the butter until the onions are translucent. Add the tomato soup, Worcestershire, pepper and sugar to the onions and butter and stir well. Turn heat down to low and let it thicken. Pour over hot noodles.

I think the Goop is good right out of the pan, but it gets better the longer it sits so the sauce permeates the noodles.

My husband thinks this is too sweet, but it's just one of those dishes that makes me feel good inside. I always eat it with a slice or two of white bread to sop up the extra sauce. Yum-oh.

If you make it, let me know what you think. It's okay to tell me you hate it. I'll still eat it!